Chatuchak Market

Almost every ‘Must See’ list about Bangkok gives some space to Chatuchak Market, so we had to see what all the fuss was about. As always, I was very thankful for our friends who drove and navigated and got us smoothly in and out, because I cannot fathom driving around Bangkok. See <<THIS POST>> if you want to see some of the crazy things we saw in traffic.

Chatuchak was… immense. And when I say immense, I mean, there are huge Zones to this market, people. Zones. Zones that contain row after row, of booth after booth, of everything you ever wanted – or didn’t want for that matter.

To give you an idea of the size, every teeny, tiny, little box on this map is a stall:

On top of the size, which could get you lost for days, it is crowded. Crowded everywhere. You will be shoulder to shoulder and body to body at times. You will squeeze past people in aisles, and have to reroute and find another way back to whatever it is in the stall you want to go see.

I highly recommend being careful not to lose your group, and designating a meet up spot just in case. Also use a cross-body bag, and a travel-safe one if you can. (I use <<THIS ONE>> when I want to be especially careful. It holds far more than I need to be sticking in my bag, and hasn’t failed me in the safety aspect through about 8 countries now.)

I’m not at all saying with that talk of size and crowd and being careful that you shouldn’t go. At all. It was fun, and fascinating, and anything you might want to take home from Thailand, you can find here.

We found a shops with everything from beauty products to books to home decor to clothing.

The kids found this shop of intricate action figures and small cars and motorcycles made of thick, multicolored wire. Yes, we took home a funky Xenomorph (from the movie Alien, for those of you who don’t speak sci-fi) because that’s the kind of girls we are raising. Going to make some nerd-boy very happy one day.

Then we went on a focused hunt, because I wanted to take home a gong. I really, really wanted a gong, and there had to be one somewhere in all of this. After making our way to home decor and doing a bit of booth to booth searching, we found a shop with several. And yes, we ‘gonged’ each one he had and made sure I got a nice smooth, full BONG when we hit it.

We got thoroughly absorbed for a while in the home decor section by the variety of unique lighting.

In fact, when I found this one, I may or may not have started texting the husband about how we needed it:

The price was really good, and I just loved the glass work. I lobbied hard, but he kept being all reasonable with “How are we going to get it home?” and “Are you sure the electric work will work in our house?” and “If it doesn’t, what would it take to convert it?” Sometimes being married to a logical, intelligent man has a downside. (I love you anyway, honey!)

In the end he made me see reason by reminding me we were already having to haul a rug home. Oh, yeah, that’s right. I bought a rug already. Given that he was leaving this trip to fly off to Shanghai for work, and I was the one returning to the states with both kids, our luggage, and a rug, I had begrudgingly agree that maybe I was going a bit far with the chandelier.

So, I had to say goodbye to the light. 🙁 It’s very sad. If you go to Chatuchak, and you see this light, and you are willing and able… please give it a good home. And, y’know, maybe I can come visit sometime?

Important final note:

When I say you can get anything at Chatuchak, that includes quite an extensive pet and animal area. But please do not buy animals here. First, the market is known for illegal wildlife trade, and you are taking a big risk of breaking the law. Second, the animals are in questionable health. Third, it’s really just unpleasant they way the animals are stacked stored in all the cages, and I think it’s just sad.